


Exit Sign

by marsakat



Series: we did it [4]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Nostalgia, Romantic Fluff, Tour de Columbus, they're so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 07:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11286951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsakat/pseuds/marsakat
Summary: The Newport is where they always return to. There are already so many memories there, and yet Tyler wants to add another to the list.





	Exit Sign

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheDyingSun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDyingSun/gifts).



> happy TDC to everyone. we did it

Being who they were, they were let into the venue all by themselves—the cavernous space empty and echoing with the ghosts of shows past. There wasn’t anyone around at this early time besides a janitor and maybe some administrators, though they were told to stay away from the stage and seats.

This was a homecoming and a solemn march towards where they came from, walking hand-in-hand and not daring to speak. Even to breathe would break the gravity of the moment; the swirling dust particles disturbed by their soft footsteps was the alarm to the silence.

Josh looked around the room—it wasn’t their first time here during the day, though the other times were swept up in the frenzy of photoshoots and interviews. He was happily recounting the first time he laid eyes upon the man holding his left hand. Josh tried to approximate the very spot he stood that fateful night, and heard the songs that would change his life.

He knew then he wanted anything and everything to do with this band, that he would follow Tyler to the ends of the earth in some form. He didn’t care if he had to be a roadie or scrubs toilets, though of course he’d want to give Tyler his music back. To lend him his beats and to play for him with every ounce of his being; to play like his life depended on it or until it killed him.

Josh knew where exactly they met that night, was because Tyler was the type of guy to remember that sort of thing. He loved the cheesy and romantic and took significance in precise dates and symbols, so he always made a point to drag Josh over to there and exclaim “Right here! History was made!”

As if Josh could ever forget meeting Tyler, seeing him face to face and their first conversation. The sparks could have ignited the tinderbox of a room, but it set fire in a very different way.

And then the famous show where everything changed. Just the two of them, preparing for that day with everything they had, pulling out every trick.  It was the start of the nightly backflip and something so much more. They were exhilarated by the music and came so, so close that night to finally breaking the tension and admitting their true feelings.

Josh knew it happened backstage in their sweaty all-red outfits that they moved closer and closer together. Words had failed them in the adrenaline rush, panting exhaustion and thrill, but the urge of their bodies and hearts had pushed them chest-to-chest. Josh remembered Tyler’s lips moving and approaching his face, but then they were interrupted.

The moment was killed and they leapt apart, but the magnetic draw was still there, pulling them closer till they finally did kiss only a week or so later. It was a milestone that didn’t happen here, but that didn’t matter because there already was so much history in these walls. Josh felt so grateful and so, so in love.

While Josh looked around the room he knew so well already, Tyler’s focus was elsewhere. He was talking to himself in his head, egging himself on as he sometimes had to do. This was a major life step, and felt almost stupid to be doing at the same time as their victory lap around Columbus. This was supposed to be about returning to their roots, ending the album cycle. It wasn’t supposed to be about making changes or new beginnings, but this felt _right_ and Tyler was all about doing things in a certain way.

There was no other place he’d rather do this than right now, and he couldn’t drag his eyes away from Josh’s face. The contentment and awe evoked such tenderness in him, he couldn’t help but smile, because he was to be with Josh forever. For eternity on stage and off, and he had to make it real.

Josh knew it would happen but didn’t notice that they ended up at that fateful exit sign. Tyler had steered him firmly but gently right where they needed to be, just like he always had, and Josh would come with him wherever was necessary. That is what worked for them, and would always stay the same.

They turned to face each other with the red sign glowing interminably above them like mistletoe at a Christmas party. Tyler took Josh’s other hand and searched for the right words to start.

“We did it,” Josh cut in first, but it didn’t matter because Tyler needed help to break the silence.

“Yeah…yeah we did,” his throat filled with a mountain of emotion and the box weighed heavy in his pocket.

“The fans are going to love all of this. I’m really excited for them,” Josh grinned, and Tyler tried to smile back.

“Josh—I…I love you so much,” Tyler’s voice was raspy as if he’d played all five shows in a row.

“I love you too, man,” Josh pecked him quickly on the lips, “Dude, you seem really nervous…I mean, I am too, but it’s gonna be great! We’ve played here so many times before, and this is just…we’re here.” Josh couldn’t put into words the mountaintop they sat upon, and only could squeeze Tyler’s hands to communicate the immensity.

Tyler shook his head, “Not nervous ‘bout that. I’m just—”

“What’s up? What? Are you breaking up with me and kicking me out of the band?” Josh laughed, and then looked grave when Tyler didn’t join in, “Seriously…what’s up?”

Tyler panicked slightly, “I love you, and…we’ve travelled everywhere but nothing has felt as real as _this_. No one has ever been as _safe_ for me as you are. You make me so happy, and I’m so glad we met.”

“Yeah, me too,” Josh’s face softened, “Ty—you’re…you’re _everything_. Is everything okay? Are you having those nightmares again?”

Tyler sometimes had dreams that Josh was gone in a whole variety of ways, tortured with the fear he’d lose what was most important to him.

“No…well, maybe a little but it’s not that…”

Josh had the gift of listening to Tyler and sometimes just knew what was up, “Worrying about what’s going to happen next?”

“It's more than that,” Tyler confessed and realized now was the best time to do what he’d wanted to do for so long, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, and you’ve made my life so much better. I…I…” Tyler wet his lips with a tongue that was dry from anxiety, “I’m so scared about the future and who I will become, where I’ll go next.  There’s all this craziness and uncertainity and I’m so afraid of failing. Thinking years ahead terrifies me.”

“Tyler…” Josh said softly, but Tyler continued on.

“But as scary as all that is…the only thing scarier is imagining a future without you in it. You’re in every plan I have and there’s just one thing I need to do to make that all a reality…”

Both were synchronized in their breathing as their lungs failed to work. The surprise caught in their throats as Tyler slowly sunk to one knee and fumbled in his pocket. It was actually happening, it was real—Josh gasped as Tyler revealed the black band in the small ring box.

Tyler couldn’t even make eye contact with Josh, and his hands shook and he looked at the stage. They’d be playing there again very soon, but first he needed to do this. If he could be brave enough to march out there and sing his sadness to strangers, he could get the next few words out to the man he loved.

“Joshua William Dun, will you marry me?” Tyler looked up into the ecstatic, glowing face of his future husband.  Josh was already nodding and laughing, tugging him up to wrap him in the safest embrace Tyler had ever known.

“Of course I will,” Josh whispered in his ear and they rocked back and forth in the empty room. A music-less dance, but coordinated with the in-time beat of their hearts.

And as they kissed, the exit sign flickered slightly in recognition of the momentous occasion happening below it.

**Author's Note:**

> one of myfrens stated we'd be getting an influx of fics called "exit sign" thanks to Tyler saying that him and Josh met under a specific exit sign in the Newport. So I had to write one, of course. I wrote this quickly, and for my fren TheDyingSun because she's kind and deserves a happy little fic.
> 
> I know I haven't posted much lately, because I've been caught up in another fic....that will be coming soon.
> 
> teeentyonepilots on tumblr. find me


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